Canyons District is building an army of “code talkers.”

Canyons schools are participating this week, which is Computer Science Education Week, in the “Hour of Code,” a nationwide effort to increase the awareness of and interest in computer science.

The goal of Hour of Code activites, says Janet Goble, CSD’s Director of Career and Technical Education, “is to introduce students to the world of programming in hopes of encouraging” more participation in computer science courses.

Goble says students will be programming via tablet apps and introduced to other types of computer programming. They also will learn options available to them in the fields of computer science and programming.

One of the highlights of the week is Hillcrest High’s invited participation in an event at Adobe System Inc.’s Lehi campus. The school’s robotics team, which last year won the opportunity to compete in the world FIRST Robotics contest in St. Louis, was asked to have a booth and give a formal presentation on Tuesday, Dec. 10, 2013. Learning events also will be held this week at Alta, Brighton, Hillcrest and Jordan high schools.

Computer science is one of the highest paying career areas with more than a million jobs currently not being filled in the United States. In addition, fewer than 10 percent of schools offer computer science as an option for students.